Ski resorts in Europe have had a great start to the season: many have opened early due to the best pre-season snowfall in years.
France
Heavy snow is expected at most resorts this weekend. Tignes, Val d'Isère and Val Thorens all have good snow, with 43cm, 41cm and 59cm forecast respectively. Avoriaz is due to open this weekend, along with other resorts in the Portes du Soleil area - Courchevel and Méribel should also be opening lifts this weekend.Austria
The fantastic early season conditions continue in Austria. The fresh snow that fell over last weekend has been topped up and temperatures remain cold. Obergurgl has an impressive 246cm on its upper slopes, while Saalbach is also open, with top to bottom skiing possible.Switzerland
Many resorts are hoping for between 30cm and 40cm this weekend. St Moritz had 55cm of snow last week and is expecting a further 23cm. Verbier had a light sprinkling of 6cm but predicts 52cm, while Zermatt, with a cover of 250cm on its upper slopes, is expecting 31cm.Italy
Many resorts enjoyed glorious sunshine, low temperatures and well-covered pistes last week. Passo Tonale (with 370cm cover) has fantastic snow conditions. Cervina has 230cm on its upper slopes, with 36cm forecasted.Norway and Sweden
It has been fairly dry across Norway. No significant snow fell last week but the snow is still in good shape. Voss is hoping to open early this week, if it gets the 25cm forecast. Are is open in Sweden and it expects a further sprinkling of fresh snow, as does Salen, which opened a lot more lifts on Thursday.US and Canada
It's been snowing across Colorado. Breckenridge and Vail had good snowfall last week with more expected. New England is also looking good - Killington had 13cm last week and light snow is expected this weekend with a sharp drop in temperatures.Scotland
Following light sprinklings, Lecht is hoping to reopen this weekend and Nevis Range is planning on opening for the first time this season. Cairngorm will also operate the funicular if it gets the 12cm forecast.• Data courtesy of the Ski Club of Great Britain (skiclub.co.uk)
